Ragnarok

FIFTY-TWO

Gleipnir Facility, Fenris Kystby, Norway

3 November, 2330 Hrs

Eirek Fossen walked into to the main lab, looking up at the ball of light that filled him with a sense of awe and power. The portal glowed brightly, larger now, but still not its full size. A few dire wolves moved slowly around the room, sniffing at the air. The Russian woman, Asya, stood quietly by the portal, smiling in the Lord’s bliss.

He had told the other staff members to retire to their quarters. The pheromones made them highly suggestible. By the time its influence began to wear off and they ventured back into the lab, it would be too late.

He stared up at the glowing portal, feeling the warmth of it washing over his face. It was beautiful. Up close, the brilliance of the light was painful to his eyes; his eyelids kept trying to shut, but he willed them open until tears flowed from his face. Every time he looked at it, he remembered his one and only trip through to the other side. The colors. The landscape. The dire wolves. And Fenrir. He hadn’t spoken to the Lord in two days. He ached to hear from Her again. Or was she a him? He honestly didn’t know, but preferred to think of Her as being female. Men just weren’t that beautiful.

He didn’t really have anything to report. The portal wouldn’t grow to sufficient size for hours yet, but he couldn’t wait to hear from Her again.

He knelt on the floor and bowed his head.

One of the dire wolves came over to him and sniffed the air around him, cocking its head left and right, its huge eyes dilating from the brilliance of the portal. Then it stepped up to the wall of the energy sphere and through it.

Fossen remained kneeling on the concrete floor. His knees and shins protested, but he refused to move. Minutes passed and he stayed still, allowing his thoughts to empty, until he focused only on his breathing.

Then it came, as he knew it would. The hairs on the back of his neck raised and the skin on his arms tightened with gooseflesh.

The voice.

Her voice.

Is it ready, Fossen?

The voice was just above a whisper, but it slid through his mind like a snake. Fossen knew the voice was only in his head, and that it came from the portal. But it sounded like she stood right next to him, uttering the words into his ear. He knew that wasn’t the case. If the weak-willed lab techs were in the room, they would hear nothing. But Fossen could hear Her in his mind. Only he and a select few others, like Schroder and Edmund Kiss, had been able to hear it, at first like a nagging thought in the dark recesses of the subconscious, and later something more. Fossen loved that voice with every part of his being.

“Soon, My Lord. Soon. The portal should be ready in several hours. It is still growing, but we have enough energy to open it to the full size and keep it open and stable. All our work is nearly complete.”

You will be rewarded.

“Thank you, my Lord,” Fossen hesitated. “We have had some problems, though. Three intruders.”

I am aware.

Of course She is, Fossen thought, but continued his report anyway, if only to extend the length of their conversation. “One is now contained and another is here with me, under Your influence.”

I feel her, he thought. A shiver run through his body. His mouth watered. He shared Her hunger.

And the third? The voice grew serious.

“The dire wolves are dealing with her outside. She poses little threat.”

I do not wish to have anything upset our plans, Fossen. I will send more of my children. They will find her.

Fossen nodded. Of course.

I will join you soon, Fossen. We will not be apart much longer.

Fossen raised his head to see dire wolves coming out of the portal. As they emerged, the first sniffed the air and looked at him. He pointed in the direction of the door leading to the outside of the facility. The dire wolf loped on all fours toward the door. And then they kept coming, following the first toward the door.

Fossen lost count after thirty arrived and more kept coming.

“Will you send all of them, my Lord?”

These are but a few grains of sand from the beach, Fossen.